At present, there exists an image processing apparatus or a so-called MFP (Multi-Function printer) constituted as a combined machine of image processing apparatuses such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, a scanner and the like. A combination of an SIMD (Single Instruction stream Multiple Data stream) type operation processing section and an auxiliary operation processing section are employed for the image processing section of such an MFP, thereby realizing a high speed, programmable image processing, which technique is disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 9-282395.
Although the image processing apparatus according to the conventional technique can properly use the SIMD type operation processing section and other operation processing sections depending on the content of the image processing, memory capacity used for an operation processing and the data width of input/output data cannot be properly changed according to the content of the image processing. Because of such a drawback, there is still much room for improvement to effectively utilize the resource of an image processing apparatus if a plurality of image formation processings are simultaneously realized.
Namely, if different image formation operations such as a copying operation and a facsimile operation are carried out simultaneously, it possibly happens that memories are scant for an operation mode requiring a higher memory capacity and unnecessarily sufficient for an operation mode requiring a relatively low memory capacity among a plurality of image formation operations (operation modes).
Further, if conducting different operation modes simultaneously, it possibly happens that sufficient data transfer speed cannot be ensured for an operation mode requiring a larger data transfer width among the plural operation modes and that data is transferred at unnecessarily high speed for an operation mode requiring a relatively small data transfer width.